In the group meetings we should remember that we have no status. We are only brothers and sisters. This is our common status. A full-timer may consider that since he is serving the Lord, he must do a good job even if others do not. Some saints have the concept that since the full-timers are supported by the offerings of the saints, the full-timers should labor more than other saints.
I once heard a saint say, “What do the full-timers do? Most saints go to work every day to make a living, but the full-timers are carefree because the church supports them. Is it not right for them to take care of the service in the church?” Many saints have heard comments similar to this. Some working saints think that since they are not full-timers, they do not need to do much. They want the full-timers to do everything. This is not proper, just as it is not proper for full-timers to consider themselves more than simply brothers and sisters.
When you go to a group meeting, you must be early. For example, if a group meeting is at seven-thirty in the evening, you should not arrive after seven-thirty. When you arrive early, you can have fellowship with the host family or care for their children. You are serving the Lord and should never arrive late. If you arrive late, you cannot do much, but if you arrive early, you can do much. When you arrive early, you should not sit down and be glued to a chair. You may ask the saints if there is anything you could do to help. You can help with the setting up of chairs. However, when you set up the chairs, you should not have any opinions. All of us have the same problem. When we do nothing, we have no opinions, but once we begin to do something, our opinions surface. You might suggest that the chairs should be set up this way or that way. If you do this, the host will be offended and think that you are giving him commands. Even if the host turns the chairs upside down, you should learn to follow him without any opinion. You should simply follow what he does; you should not have any opinions, and neither should you mention anything, inquire about anything, or promote anything.
If no one else is present when the meeting is supposed to begin, you should not say, “Why is no one here?” You should never be a busybody. In the group meetings you will discover that you have many defects. This can be likened to a daughter who is learning from her mother how to cook. Even though the daughter has not yet learned to cook, she will often try to instruct her mother to do this or that. Actually, if the daughter would speak less and observe more, she would learn how to cook.
If we are willing to receive this fellowship, we will grow after being in a group meeting for six months. When we enter a home, we may find a baby crawling on the floor, and we can care for him. Eventually, we will learn to fellowship with the young and with the older saints. However, if we enter into a home, and the husband has not returned from work, the wife is in the kitchen, and the baby is crawling on the floor, and we murmur that no one is present, the host family will be cold toward us. A serving one of the Lord needs to be prudent. We should play with the baby and even talk with him, or we can help the wife in the kitchen.
If we help with the baby or in the kitchen, this will warm the mother’s heart. Then later in the meeting, the mother will listen to what we say. If damaging words come out of our mouth when we enter the home, we should not expect the mother to listen to us in the meeting.
Whether we fellowship with others or do things, we must constantly fellowship with the Lord in prayer. We can ask the Lord to give us something appropriate to say. We should not play politics when we speak with others; rather, we should live in the spirit and fellowship with the Lord. The Lord will give us suitable words in a timely manner. Some saints do not know how to speak with others. We all need to learn.
When we join a small group, we should not speak too much; neither should we be silent. However, it is not so easy to be balanced. Let us consider the previous example. When we see a baby crawling on the floor, we should not speak too much lest we express our opinions, but we should not sit silently either. It is not so easy to offer our portion to supply others in a way that can be received by others. Therefore, I would exhort all the brothers and sisters who are serving full time to learn earnestly. This is because we are all beginners, and people need time to trust in us. We may have knowledge, but no one knows this. Thus, it can be difficult for others to accept our speaking right away. If we are willing to learn these things, the saints will be happy to open their homes to us. Hence, we must receive the help from the training and exercise diligently.